


Back To Serenity

by Neroli66



Category: Firefly
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, actually probably not even canon level, rayne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-03-25
Updated: 2004-03-25
Packaged: 2019-09-16 10:48:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16952583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neroli66/pseuds/Neroli66
Summary: A River and Jayne Adventure with a little Romance. Set approximately 1 year after Objects In Space.





	1. Author Preferred Version

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, this is the very first Firefly fanfic I ever wrote. Took me a long time to decide to post it but jebbypal read it at my site and seems to think I should, so here it is. It's a little glimpse at what River might become and how a River and Jayne romance might start. A little more action, less romance then my other stories. I do want to note that this one did directly inspire me to write Ballad Of Jayne, that one was originally meant to explore a mysterious package that River foresees Jayne giving to her in this one. But it ended up not being the continuation of this one that I envisioned.
> 
> A FireflyFans.net exclusive for jebbypal.

River knew it was time to leave. 

She slowly pressed up against the door to listen for anyone near. Sensing nothing in the cold, white corridor she triggered the latch and let the door whoosh open. Now to find him and get him safely out before it decided he was no longer fun to play with.

Jayne....her Jayne, though he didn't get that yet. 

Most of him still thought of her as crazy River, childlike and slightly creepifying. But even so he had tried to stop them from taking her, had killed for her. 

One of the corpses left behind was a Blue Hand, part of one set now detached from the other, the other who had been torturing Jayne for days, trying to find a release for it's pain and delirium in Jayne's cut and twisted body. It was oddly comforting to know they could be killed, made them seem almost "human" to her, less the stuff of soul wracking nightmares. 

It was oddly terrifying watching the madness creep into the one that lived, feeling whatever was left of it's soul pouring out like blood. 

She sensed that she was nearing the cell where Jayne was being kept, she had not realized how far apart they had been. 

Odd, it had felt like he was much closer when his body was screaming in pain and she had been whispering gentle words to his mind to help ease his torment. Weaving bright sunshine and warmness out of her memories to protect him as best she could. Her control had slipped a couple times, but she had reason to hope that Jayne was not as bothered by the other memories that slipped through as he once might have been. And she had needed those memories too, as the Others had run their battery of tests to see how badly their work had been damaged by her prolonged absence from their care, it gave her a place to hide the River that was now. 

She hoped her slipping into ramblings and fading River away like she had been before she left fooled them. 

Hoped that they were distracted enough by a mere, unconditioned, untrained human managing to nearly decapitate one of their finest that they did not see how lucid she truly was. Or how well their program had succeeded in giving her the tools she needed to get her and Jayne away from them. 

Quick as a wink she triggered the lock on his door and silently slipped in, letting it slide closed behind her. The darkness enveloped her, but she could feel Jayne curled up in the corner; she knew he had not had time to see who it was that came in, could feel his body tensing up, ready to attack if an opening presented itself. 

"shhhh..." she whispered "...it's me, bao bai...time to get home."

Gently she reached out to him, lightly running her slim fingers over the top of his head, she liked the feel of his hair sliding through her fingertips, softer then she'd imagined it would be. She felt him shudder slightly at the caress, then he was pulling her down to him, crushing her desperately close, wanting, needing to know she was really there this time.

She let herself melt into him, savoring the feel of his arms around her, felt a rib poking her, not quite broken enough to actually push through but she knew how much it pained him. How much all the cuts and bruises and broken bones throbbed at the harsh embrace, and how much it eased his soul feeling her warmth so near, how much he craved that warmth. She wished they had all the time in the 'verse to stay wrapped up together like this forever.

Softly she cooed comforting noises to him, running her hands soothingly down his back, letting him feel safe for a moment; then she gently disengaged from his arms, catching hold of his hand.

"Jayne, we do not have much time, they are coming to kill you....we have to get out of here."

She stood, pulling Jayne up with her, not an easy task but he did not resist, even helped a bit using his other hand to steady himself against the wall. She put her free arm around him and pulled the hand she was holding over so his arm was resting on her shoulder, knowing how little good it would do.

Jayne was simply too big for her to support physically. But they both needed the contact so she guided him as best she could to the door, pausing long enough to be sure the corridor was still clear then quickly she led him out into the bright, cold lights. It was hard moving silently through the halls, Jayne was in too much pain and to stiff to move as swiftly and gracefully as he usually could when there was a call for it, and in fact, was rather more graceless then his normal, not-in-danger mode. It bought up an odd fragment of memory from the shattered days when Kaylee had told her about Simon calling Jayne a man-ape thing gone wrong.

Kaylee had thought it was just a funny story but River had been upset, even then she had known that Jayne was better then the others gave him credit for.

She had know before any of the others how loyal Jayne was in his own way.

She knew that money had only been a part of why he'd turned her and Simon in on Ariel, sometimes she wondered if Jayne himself knew that. To this day he still thought that had been his main reason, but she knew he'd also been trying to protect Serenity by getting the danger her and Simon brought off her. 

Not to say the money had played no part in his actions, just that there had been a deeper reason behind it. One that Jayne had no inkling of at the time.

He'd have scoffed at anyone trying to suggest to him that he was starting to care for Serenity and her crew like family. He'd not cared for anyone else he'd ever hired out to like that before, but that was part of the power of Serenity.

She drew to her and bound together those she protected. Each member of Serenity's family was a part of her, an aspect of her. 

River suddenly realized there were people up ahead, silently she cursed at her own distraction.

This was the only way to the docking bay, only way out, and she had almost lead them right into their hands again. No alarm had sounded, so she knew they had not realized they were not where they were supposed to be yet and she had wanted to keep it that way as long as she could, but there were no doors in this section to duck into...and they were heading this way.

She had not wanted this yet, but only 3 of them, might be able to take them down quickly and quietly.

She let Jayne know they were there with a look and a thought, leaning him against the wall as she did so her hands were free to deal with them. She only hoped they were guards so she could get something resembling a weapon for Jayne.

********************************************

Jayne leaned against the cold wall, feeling it seep into his bones and feeling all helpless. He watched River move off a pace, knowin' he wasn't going to be much use to her right now and not liking the feeling. 

He was a man of action, only thing he did well, and here he was waiting on a lil' slip of a girl to save him. 

'Course, that lil' slip of a girl had already saved him many times over the last couple days, just not like this, not like the way he was good at savin'. Not with fists an' all. 

She had saved his mind, he knew it. Had felt her presence in there keeping him sane, was starting to suspect it was not the first time she had touched his mind. 

He remembered that moment on Ariel, when she first woke _"copper for a kiss"_ and then that piercing look; is that when she'd known he'd ratted her and her brother out?

If so then why hadn't the fool girl tried harder to get away?

She had seemed to know that he was leading them to a trap, hindsight being 20/20 an' all, and that gibberish about Christmas almost made sense to him now _"don't look in the closet, it's greedy"_ only it was too late, he had already looked in there and they had taken Christmas away.

'Course, this time her being in his mind had felt different, not like a soft reflexive brush against it, more deliberate. It had felt oddly comfortin' feeling her there in his head considering how creepifying he'd always found the idea back when he wasn't sure that was what she was doin'. 

And he'd felt things in her mind too; felt new River fading into the back and old River coming to the front; felt the panic off her from being back in their hell, felt the needles they stuck in her too.

Felt all the fear and pain she'd gone through at the Academy risin' up from where Simon's drugs had allowed it to rest.

He had seen somethin' else there too, something that brought back memories of River starting to watch him with that strange moony look on her face 'bout a year back, that look that had lately been looking rather more....knowing. 

Jayne knew that it was his fault that they was in this mess. River'd gone to pick up a few things, he'd been supposed to watch her but had gotten distracted by that beaut' in the gun shop window; been so long since there had been any trouble he got lazy till he heard the scuffle.

True he'd killed a few, but he had also killed the wrong one.

That Blue Hand had grabbed her and he'd just reacted all dumb like, slashing his throat. He still remembered River's face going all shocked and still, gave that other time to grab her and get that needle in her.

She'd been doin' okay keeping them off her before he showed up, might even have gotten away if he hadn't killed her worst nightmare in front of her.

Now he was too weak to protect her; he tried to stand up on his own so's he could at least get in a few punches, but his legs wouldn't co-operate.

Jayne knew they were about to get caught an' there was nothing he could do to stop them. He saw the three men rounding the corner heading straight at them, saw the shock at seeing them there where they should not be then the blur of River's movements as she took them out, quick as can be, most noise they made was hittin' the floor.

He felt a swell of pride in his lil' River, and more then a little shock. It struck him that she was one fine fighter when she had the need; smooth and graceful and real deadly like.

It was a thing of beauty, the way her body could move like that, like it wasn't killin' just dancing; yet there they was dropped dead on the ground.

He wondered where she'd learned it.

Wondered why the hell she had not killed the ones attacking her before; but then he knew why. Only she had been in danger then, and she had believed the Blue Hands could not be killed. He stared at her, knew he was really seeing her for the first time, then shook it off.

"River..." his voice felt like sandpaper scrapping out of his throat, "...you ok? Cuz I think we best be movin' on before I collapse here."

River glanced at him silently, then bent to retrieve one of the guards sonic rifles.

"Here" she said, handing it to him then helping him peel himself off the wall.

He felt a little better then, more stable having a gun in his hands, less useless if they ran into more trouble. Though he was starting to suspect River was more capable of takin' care of him then the other way around, still, it felt good knowin' next time he might be of some use to her.

She moved him along more quickly now. Briefly he thought maybe they should hide the bodies, but he knew there was no time for that, their best chance now was getting to a ship as quick as possible. Even then it was a slim chance they'd be able to get away clear.

He hoped she had some plan for ditching pursuit if she DID get them off this rock. 

******************************************** 

River chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip, going over in her head what she knew of the layout of this place. She knew it was nearly identical to the one on Osiris, and what types of aircraft were likely to be found. She dredged up all the half formed plans for escaping she'd had from before, modifying them with what she had learned since from watching Mal and the others.

She knew they were planning their own little rescue, that it would have come too late for Jayne if they had succeeded at all; knew if she could just get her and Jayne within range of Serenity that everything would work out somehow, it always did when they were all together. 

Still wasn't quite sure how to get them there though. Too many variables yet.

Didn't know if there would be any space worthy craft in the dock, if they'd be able to get to them if there were, if others would be able to get craft in the air and pursue them if they did.

It was all starting to make her head hurt.

But she had to get Jayne out, had to get him safe again, had to have a chance to find out if that desperate embrace had really been for her or just any living, breathing, familiar body not trying to torture him. But she didn't have time to think on that now, had to get Jayne out.

Then she felt it, the black, emptiness behind them....the other Blue Hand was coming, he knew they were trying to escape. He was going to kill them.

******************************************** 

Jayne felt River tense up next to him, all the warmth draining out of her. 

But she did not freeze, not this time; this time she kept moving, pushing him on ahead of her. He saw the docking bay before River did, no surprise since he pretty much blocked the view of anyone behind him. 

Saw the guards go rigid with shock then reach for their weapons, saw the first one knocked back into the door before he realized he'd fired his own stolen one first. 

She wasn't Vera but she just might be enough to get them past these soft, gou tsoa de excuses for security.

Then he felt the blast from the second guards weapon lift him off his feet and he was starin' up at the ceiling as every muscle and bone in his body screamed in agony. He caught a glimpse of Rivers face as she moved past him to deal with the guards, knew if it wasn't so gorram serious right now she'd be laughing at him layin' there. He rolled over and started getting up, bracing himself against the pain, but glad that some strength seemed to be returning and his head seemed to be clearing up a bit. 

He wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline, having a weapon in his hands again or not wanting to let River have all the fun blasting them out of this ruttin' place, but he was almost starting to feel like Jayne again. 

Then he saw the shoes, the deep, dark black shoes. He looked up, saw the pants, then the hands; blue gloves, just one pair, holding a thin metal thing. Then two blue ends popped out the sides of it... 

******************************************** 

River saw him pull out the HoB Rod, this was the Blue Hands weapon of choice. She had never had one used on her before but at the Academy they all had seen them used on those that did not obey the rules, that tried to run too many times; the ones Blue Sun decided they couldn't control. 

It jolted her out of the stupor she'd been in since it had come into view. She knew she had to get that thing off and get it off now before Jayne's insides turned to mush.

She rushed back up the corridor, hoping to knock it away, crush it before it destroyed Jayne. She did manage to surprise Blue Hand enough that he dropped it, but she could still feel it humming and Jayne screaming in her head, or was that her?

******************************************** 

Jayne looked down at the bloody body of the other Blue Hand, he'd almost decapitated this one as well only he hadn't used a knife this time.

River was laying on the ground on top of that blue thing, whatever it was, and sirens were going off all over the place now.

Roughly, Jayne pulled River up, he could see blood starting to pool in her eyes. 

Like tears. 

Angrily he crushes that vile thing under his heal, heard a satisfying crunch and the humming stopped. Whatever that thing had been he could tell it had caused River some hurt, felt like his ears were about to start bleeding too. Fine pair the two of them made now, he wondered absently which of them was going to drop dead first. 

"River, which gorram ship'll get us off this ruttin' planet?"

He watched with relief as River started moving towards the one farthest away and he took off after her. 

Figures, all he wants to do is collapse and she's heading for the furthest place to collapse in. But at least she is heading, that's somethin'. He could hear the reinforcements rushing down the corridors heading their way. 

"Time to get home, bao bai" 

******************************************** 

River ran for the ship at the back of the docks, she could hear Jayne right behind her muttering something about it being the farthest place to collapse into under his breath and something about "bao bai" and gettin' home.

Poor Jayne, he'd been through hell the last few days. 

She knew they had both sustained some damage from the HoB Rod, hoped it was only minor. It felt like it had only just started when Jayne had gotten it off, it had seemed to take longer then it needed to kill them. They should both be dead, puddles of blood on the floor. 

She knew Simon was going to have a heck of a time fixing them when they got back on Serenity, she wouldn't let her self think on them not making it. 

If they could just get on that ship, get it going, get it out of atmo and into the asteroid belt she knew was just beyond this planet; she had a plan for after that. She just needed to get them there in one piece first. 

She nearly crashed into the ship she was running so fast, Jayne almost did too. Good thing she had gotten the code to open the door keyed in before he went careening past her into the common area. 

She followed him in, punching in the code to close and lock the door as soon as her hand could reach the buttons; then she slid into the pilots chair and started up the engines. Jayne loomed over her as her fingers danced over the control panel of the small ship, then she grabbed the steering wheel and lifted off; hovering for a second as Jayne slid into the seat behind her.

"Buckle up Jayne...." 

"Uh....River" he said "you do know the doors ain't open, don't 'cha?"

"Yes...." with that River blasted the doors open.

This was the reason she had gone for this ship, only one with weapons on it that was small enough to maneuver the way she needed it too later. 

The small vessel rocked back from the explosion, but River kicked the engines into high gear shooting them out of through the blasted door and incinerating the guards that had survived the first explosion in the process. Now she knew there would be no pursuit from that area, just hoped they got enough of a head start before reinforcements could come from outside the building they had just left. 

This was not a long range vessel, really nothing more then a souped up shuttle, but she didn't need it to be; it just needed enough range and power to get them out of atmo which it should be able to do easily, if they didn't get shot down first. 

They were lucky actually, most buildings did not have attached and enclosed docking bays, mostly for the reasons that River had just exploited in getting them out; it was too dangerous having space worthy vessels in confined places. 

Most places she'd have not been able to cut off their first and most dangerous source of pursuit so easily. But Blue Sun liked having more privacy at that location and never thought anyone would be fool enough to try what she and Jayne had just done. 

******************************************** 

Jayne found himself fascinated by River's slim fingers working the controls of the ship, he'd never really paid much mind to how graceful she was before. 

He heard the proximity alert go off as they neared leaving atmo, but his mind was elsewhere...almost dreamin' like. 

He remembered the first time he'd seen her, comin' out of that box, all slim and pale....and naked. His body's reaction on seein' her that first time, before it was clear she was crazy an' all. 

And so young...plus he'd always thought him an' Kaylee'd end up together somewhere along the road. Had seemed to make sense, Zoë and Wash, Mal and Inara, him and Kaylee. Had a certain balance to it even though he thought on her more as a lil' sis than anything. 

Then that prissy Doc had come aboard and Kaylee'd gone all sweet on him and Jayne had known he was trouble. 

That Kaylee'd get hurt; not in the way she had mind you, gettin' shot had not been the danger Jayne had foreseen. Jayne just didn't think the Doc would ever take the stick out his ass long enough to see Kaylee for the sweet, kind, loving person she was. 

But Jayne had been wrong and he'd come to terms with that long since, not that he'd ever let Simon know it. 

'Sides, it was kinda funny watching someone even dumber around women then he was. And now here Jayne was, sittin' there thinkin' on the Doc's sis, remembering images of laughter and hoops and sittin' at the table and spinning around in the cargo bay and sunlit fields full of cows and clear blue skies and stars all around and always it was like he was looking out through her eyes. 

Seeing her memories, most of them he knew was just that, they matched up with memories of his own. 

Strange having the two sides of those images in his head like that. 

And then there were the ones that weren't memories, couldn't be because he was there and had no matching image from his side. 

Floating down to Mal standing on Serenity's hull and other sittin' at the table times and fields he'd never seen before and looking up at his own laughing face as he handed her a package wrapped very badly in pretty paper, but other then him not rememberin' them they felt the same as the memories. 

Then there was that one time, that one image. It had started like the others, from her, in her mind; her fingers spread out, winding into his chest hair, looking down into his eyes, her feeling him inside her. It had been an odd sensation, feeling that. But then it had shifted, feeling himself inside her, looking up at her, seeing his hands tangling into her hair, pulling her face down to his. It disturbed him how real it had felt. 

Disturbed him how when that rib broke breaking the spell it had been the loss of that image that made him cry out and not the pain being inflicted from outside. 

Jayne felt the little ship rock dangerously, looked around and realized they had just missed gettin' hit and were entering an asteroid belt.

What the hell was River thinkin' taking them in there for. 

******************************************** 

River wove the shuttle easily among the asteroids, she was glad Jayne had come out of his little reverie. It had been starting to distract her and she needed to be able to think, had to move precisely in here; though his panic on realizing where they were wasn't much of an improvement. 

She almost wished he'd pass out totally but she needed him more or less awake, there was no way she'd be able to get him suited up if he was unconscious. 

Speaking of which it was about time to do that.

"Jayne, get a suit on....and bring one up for me too." she tossed over her shoulder. 

"wha?" 

"Suit....spacesuit, thing that keeps you from dying when outside of a spacecraft." She could feel his confusion, and his thought that she really was a crazy ass loon, but she could hear him getting suited up anyway. 

He brought her up a suit too, helped her get into it while she was flying. It was really kinda sweet how his face scrunched up like that while he was guiding her hands and feet where they needed to be so she could more or less keep her eye on where they were going and one hand on the wheel. 

How his fingers had curled gently around her ankle like he was afraid it'd snap in two if he wasn't careful. 

She'd managed to regain a bit of the lead she had lost when the higher powered ships had given chase, they had to be even more careful moving around in here. Should be enough for what she had planned. 

As soon as Jayne had her in the suit she sent him an image of what she wanted to do. His face drained of color, but his eyes met hers steady enough. 

He leaned forward and gave her a quick, hard kiss on the lips then lifted her helmet on and snapped it into place before she could react. He had that annoying little smirk on his face as she glared at him through the helmet. 

It was not the first kiss she had wanted to get from him and he damn well knew it. 

She had wanted that first kiss to be more...she also knew it might be the only kiss she ever got. 

She watched him get his own helmet in place, then signaled him to move to the door while she programmed into the ship where she wanted it to go. Soon as that was done she moved next to Jayne, made sure both of them had a hold of something that was bolted down and popped the latch open. 

Now that there was no air in the shuttle she pulled herself out the hatch and waited for Jayne to do the same; once they were both out she grabbed hold of him, looked up at the closest asteroid and gave a tiny push. Just enough to send them floating into it. It was big enough to shield them from sight of the bigger ships sensors so long as they had been blocked from view when they went out of the ship, which she knew they had been. 

She stopped her and Jayne's movement by the simple expedient of hitting the asteroid, then grabbing hold of it's rough surface. Not easy to do with the thick gloves of the suit on; so far, so good. 

She turned her head slightly and watched the brief flash of flames when the shuttle hit an asteroid, just as she had planned. 

Now, with a bit more luck they will assume her and Jayne had still been on the shuttle when it hit. No reason for them not to, unless someone on that ship was like her. That was the one thing that worried her now. 

She knew she had not been at the Academy alone, that there had been other programs, that there could be some that Blue Sun were using already. 

******************************************** 

He watched her face as she was watching the other ship leave. 

He could not believe she had pulled this off, only thing left now was waitin' for Serenity to come pick them up...up...how the ruttin' hell did she expect Serenity to know to come get 'em!?!?! 

She turned her face to look at him with those big doe eyes of hers, man could drown in those eyes, and smiled all serene like at him. He remembered how she'd let him know what she was doin' and realized he really ought to not doubt that she could get Serenity here to pick them up now that they was dead and all. 

He went still as the thought sunk in, the Alliance had every reason to believe River Tam had died in that shuttle. She'd not only managed to get them out today, but got them off her trail, if not forever then for a good long spell. 

He saw the pleased look in her eyes as he started to get the full impact of what she'd done, she looked a mite worried too. 

Part that scared him was he knew what was worryin' at her. She was scared that he'd find her even more creepifying now he'd seen what she could do. Now that he knew for sure she could read his mind, show him her own too, that she could kill a man quicker then he could, that the way she could pilot a ship even put Wash to shame. 

She was afraid he'd not be able to accept her as she was now that he'd seen it. 

She knew how hard it had been for him to adjust to her and Simon bein' part of the crew, to start thinkin' on them as family. 

Hell, been hard for him to accept any on Serenity as family, but the Tam's had been the hardest; partially because of the danger they put everyone else in just by bein' there conflicted with the protective streak he'd been developing towards the others. Partially because that price on their heads spoke so clear to the merc code he'd lived by so long before finding a home on Serenity. 

Look out for number one and always get the cash. 

Partially because he'd never been too comfortable around things he didn't understand, and he very much had not understood River. 

Still didn't get parts of her, probably never would. But that was okay, that was part of why River needed him. 

She needed all of them on Serenity, but she needed him because he felt things the most solid like, the least like she did. 

When she touched his mind it give everything that she was feeling shape. He knew that was a simple way of understanding things between them, he also knew that didn't matter; he got what he needed to know out of it and that was what mattered. 

He bent his head down slowly so his helmet was touching hers, let his forehead rest on the cool glass separating them and closed his eyes, hoping what River could feel inside him was enough to set her mind at rest because he honestly had no words to tell her it was going to work out fine. 

He wanted to touch her, to let her know that way that he wasn't going to be fightin' this, that she wasn't scarin' him no more, that he knew she was a part of him. He could almost feel it when River's smooth forehead pressed against his through the glass. 

******************************************** 

It felt like they had been drifting there forever, clinging to that rock spinning slowly through space. Fading in and out as their wounds drained them both of strength. 

Serenity had had to wait till the ban on taking off had been lifted, then waited a bit longer to make sure no one was near enough to wonder why they were creeping into an asteroid belt that most avoided and had recently been used by two fugitives trying to make their escape. 

River opened her eyes and studied Jayne's face, still pressed against their helmets. 

She knew Wash was a bit discomforted about getting the coordinates in his head like that, and Mal from getting her plea for them to come get her and Jayne, the others still confused and quietly resentful on why they had left Melilot without even attempting their plans for rescue, especially Simon. The Captain never was one to let on what was up when he wasn't yet sure how it would work out. 

It was a tribute to his strength as Captain that the others had gone along with him even feeling as they did. 

She had considered touching all their minds to let them know things was okay, but she was so tired, and this was the Captains call. 

She even understood why he did it; what if they did all know where they was heading but they didn't make it to her and Jayne in time. Best the others not know how close they had been if all that was there were two corpses. 

She saw the Captain open the hatch as Wash gingerly maneuvered Serenity as close as he could; she wondered how the Captain had gotten the others out of the way while he came out to check they were really here. 

She'd been concentrating on making sure she was still breathing as the air was getting thin, glad that Jayne knew to conserve his own air as long as possible and had stayed as silent as she had. Simon would have been to panicked. 

That was the other reason Jayne had become her rock, he understood what it sometimes took to survive and did it without fuss. Even when it wasn't pretty. She had thought that was the one he'd have figured out first. 

It amazed her that he had figured out how he gave her form, even in the most basic way he had. But to her it was just as important that he was her protector, her warrior. She realized he was watching her, waiting for her to finish her rescue of him, trusting her. 

"Boa bai, we're home" she whispered and gently pushed her and Jayne off the rock and towards Serenity, remembering that other time she had drifted like this... 

And the Captain, always there to catch his crew and bring them back to Serenity. 

******************************************** 

**Epilogue**

Jayne walked onto the bridge; it was dark, night time as Serenity figured things. 

It had been a bit over a week since him and River had gotten back on board. The first couple days spent sleeping and healing, then slowly gettin' back into the old routine. 

They had yet to spend any time alone together but they were rarely far apart, always sittin' next to each other at the table or on the couch by the infirmary. 

Simon had been givin' him warning looks each time he'd gotten too close to River for his taste, which had been most of the time. 

Jayne didn't care. He liked bein' close to River, needed to know she was near. 

There had been no word on the cortex of River's death, he knew that shouldn't have surprised him. They were not likely to want to draw attention to the fact that they had had River and she'd died getting away. 

They had no real proof that Blue Sun believed she was dead, but they'd had plenty of time to comb that asteroid belt lookin' for her if they hadn't. Plenty of time to catch up with Serenity after she picked them up. So they had to assume that Blue Sun, at least, was no longer actively looking for them. 

A smaller victory then he'd hoped for, but it was a start. 

He looked down at River layin' there on the deck in front of Wash's controls, looking up at the stars. Her hair spread out around her head like a halo. Slowly he sat down beside her, his ribs still paining him some. 

Jayne wondered how she could lay there like that, the grate was digging into his ass already and she'd been there a while. She sat up and gracefully moved so her back was to him, then she snuggled back into him, close to his chest, resting her head back against his shoulder. She felt so fragile as he wrapped his arms around her gently. 

His mind drifted back over the past two years, that first one had been real rocky. Then they had all come to a kinda truce, slowly deepening into a trust. 

Mal had gott'n real bad when Inara left, but had seemed to regain a lot of his faith when she came back. He even let Book say grace out loud now. 

Wash and Zoë had a kid on the way, that was gonna change things. Simon had loosened up a lot and that made Kaylee happy, heck, he might even be able to keep her happy. 

And then there was him and River...she made him feel soft like and complete, and he'd done more thinkin' the past week then he had the rest of his life put together. 

Kinda made his head hurt sometimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one required a LOT of editing to make fit to post from the scramble fireflyfans.net left it in. Though, to be fair, most of the worst offenses were my own weird writing tics.
> 
> I am so lucky I posted this on ANY site other than my own because that geocities site is long gone and this one never made it to fanfiction.net or livejournal. And a massive **thank you** to whoever is keeping fireflyfans.net up after all these years!
> 
> So yeah, hopefully I got the line breaks more or less where I originally wanted them. And fixed most of the spelling errors (oh god, so many spelling errors), and _wow_ was I ever a fan of run on sentences. Sweet baby Jesus.
> 
> Honestly this is probably my personal favorite fan fic I ever wrote (sorry Delta Rain, you are number two though), even if it still needs a good thrashing from a real beta.


	2. Alternate Editing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After going through the one posted on fireflyfans.net I found I _had_ posted this on LJ after all, my old eyes just missed it.
> 
> This is **exactly** the same as chapter one except for how it is edited, mainly in the line breaks, and it still has most of those weird writing tics I was talking about.
> 
> This is closer to how I intended it to read at the time, which is why I am saving it for posterity, but at the moment I think I like the newer edit better.

River knew it was time to leave.

She slowly pressed up against the door to listen for anyone near. Sensing nothing in the cold, white corridor she triggered the latch and let the door whoosh open.

Now to find him and get him safely out before it decided he was no longer fun to play with.

Jayne....her Jayne, though he didn't get that yet. Most of him still thought of her as crazy River, childlike and slightly creepifying. But even so he had tried to stop them from taking her, had killed for her. One of the corpses left behind was a Blue Hand, part of one set now detached from the other, the other who had been torturing Jayne for days, trying to find a release for it's pain and delirium in Jayne's cut and twisted body.

It was oddly comforting to know they could be killed, made them seem almost "human" to her, less the stuff of soul wracking nightmares.

It was oddly terrifying watching the madness creep into the one that lived, feeling whatever was left of it's soul pouring out like blood.

She sensed that she was nearing the cell where Jayne was being kept; she had not realized how far apart they had been. Odd, it had felt like he was much closer when his body was screaming in pain and she had been whispering gentle words to his mind to help ease his torment. Weaving bright sunshine and warmness out of her memories to protect him as best she could. Her control had slipped a couple times, but she had reason to hope that Jayne was not as bothered by the other memories that slipped through as he once might have been. And she had needed those memories too, as the Others had run their battery of tests to see how badly their work had been damaged by her prolonged absence from their care, it gave her a place to hide the River that was now.

She hoped her slipping into ramblings and fading River away like she had been before she left fooled them. Hoped that they were distracted enough by a mere, unconditioned, untrained human managing to nearly decapitate one of their finest that they did not see how lucid she truly was. Or how well their program had succeeded in giving her the tools she needed to get her and Jayne away from them.

Quick as a wink she triggered the lock on his door and silently slipped in, letting it slide closed behind her. The darkness enveloped her, but she could feel Jayne curled up in the corner....she knew he had not had time to see who it was that came in, could feel his body tensing up, ready to attack if an opening presented itself.

"shhhh..." she whispered "...it's me, bao bai...time to get home."

Gently she reached out to him, lightly running her slim fingers over the top of his head, she liked the feel of his hair sliding through her fingertips, softer then she'd imagined it would be. She felt him shudder slightly at the caress, then he was pulling her down to him, crushing her desperately close....wanting....needing to know she was really there this time. She let herself melt into him, savoring the feel of his arms around her, felt a rib poking her, not quite broken enough to actually push through but she knew how much it pained him. How much all the cuts and bruises and broken bones throbbed at the harsh embrace, and how much it eased his soul feeling her warmth so near, how much he craved that warmth.

She wished they had all the time in the 'verse to stay wrapped up together like this forever.

Softly she cooed comforting noises to him, running her hands soothingly down his back, letting him feel safe for a moment...then she gently disengaged from his arms, catching hold of his hand. "Jayne, we do not have much time, they are coming to kill you....we have to get out of here." She stood, pulling Jayne up with her...not an easy task but he did not resist, even helped a bit using his other hand to steady himself against the wall. She put her free arm around him and pulled the hand she was holding over so his arm was resting on her shoulder, knowing how little good it would do. Jayne was simply too big for her to support physically. But they both needed the contact so she guided him as best she could to the door, pausing long enough to be sure the corridor was still clear then quickly she led him out into the bright, cold lights.

It was hard moving silently through the halls, Jayne was in too much pain and to stiff to move as swiftly and gracefully as he usually could when there was a call for it, and in fact, was rather more graceless then his normal, not-in-danger mode....it bought up an odd fragment of memory from the shattered days when Kaylee had told her about Simon calling Jayne a man-ape thing gone wrong. Kaylee had thought it was just a funny story but River had been upset, even then she had known that Jayne was better then the others gave him credit for.

She had known before any of the others how loyal Jayne was in his own way. She knew that money had only been a part of why he'd turned her and Simon in on Ariel, sometimes she wondered if Jayne himself knew that. To this day he still thought that had been his main reason, but she knew he'd also been trying to protect Serenity by getting the danger her and Simon brought off her. Not to say the money had played no part in his actions, just that there had been a deeper reason behind it. One that Jayne had no inkling of at the time. He'd have scoffed at anyone trying to suggest to him that he was starting to care for Serenity and her crew like family. He'd not cared for anyone else he'd ever hired out to like that before, but that was part of the power of Serenity. She drew to her and bound together those she protected. Each member of Serenity's family was a part of her, an aspect of her.

River suddenly realized there were people up ahead, silently she cursed at her own distraction. This was the only way to the docking bay, only way out, and she had almost lead them right into their hands again. No alarm had sounded, so she knew they had not realized they were not where they were supposed to be yet and she had wanted to keep it that way as long as she could....but there were no doors in this section to duck into...and they were heading this way!

She had not wanted this yet, but....only 3 of them, might be able to take them down quickly and quietly. She let Jayne know they were there with a look and a thought....leaning him against the wall as she did so her hands were free to deal with them....she only hoped they were guards so she could get something resembling a weapon for Jayne.

********************************************

Jayne leaned against the cold wall, feeling it seep into his bones and feeling all helpless. He watched River move off a pace, knowin' he wasn't going to be much use to her right now and not liking the feeling. He was a man of action, only thing he did well, and here he was waiting on a lil' slip of a girl to save him....'course, that lil' slip of a girl had already saved him many times over the last couple days, just not like this....not like the way he was good at savin', not with fists an' all.

She had saved his mind....he knew it. Had felt her presence in there keeping him sane....was starting to suspect it was not the first time she had touched his mind. He remembered that moment on Ariel, when she first woke..."copper for a kiss"...and then that piercing look....is that when she'd known he'd ratted her and her brother out? If so then why hadn't the fool girl tried harder to get away? She had seemed to know that he was leading them to a trap, hindsight being 20/20 an' all....and that gibberish about Christmas almost made sense to him now..."don't look in the closet, it's greedy"...only it was too late, he had already looked in there and they had taken Christmas away.

'Course, this time her being in his mind had felt different, not like a soft reflexive brush against it, more deliberate. It had felt oddly comfortin' feeling her there in his head considering how creepifying he'd always found the idea back when he wasn't sure that was what she was doin'. And he'd felt things in her mind too....felt new River fading into the back and old River coming to the front, felt the panic off her from being back in their hell, felt the needles they stuck in her too. Felt all the fear and pain she'd gone through at the Academy risin' up from where Simon's drugs had allowed it to rest. He had seen somethin' else there too, something that brought back memories of River starting to watch him with that strange moony look on her face 'bout a year back, that look that had lately been looking rather more....knowing.

Jayne knew that it was his fault that they was in this mess. River'd gone to pick up a few things, he'd been supposed to watch her but had gotten distracted by that beaut' in the gun shop window, been so long since there had been any trouble he got lazy...till he heard the scuffle. True he'd killed a few, but he had also killed the wrong one. That Blue Hand had grabbed her and he'd just reacted all dumb like, slashing his throat...he still remembered River's face...going all shocked and still....gave that other time to grab her and get that needle in her. She'd been doin' ok keeping them off her before he showed up, might even have gotten away if he hadn't killed her worst nightmare in front of her.

Now he was too weak to protect her, he tried to stand up on his own so's he could at least get in a few punches, but his legs wouldn't co-operate. Jayne knew they were about to get caught an' there was nothing he could do to stop them.

He saw the 3 men rounding the corner, heading straight at them, saw the shock at seeing them there where they should not be...then the blur of River's movements as she took them out, quick as can be....most noise they made was hittin' the floor...he felt a swell of pride in his lil' River, and more then a little shock. It struck him that she was one fine fighter when she had the need, smooth and graceful and real deadly like. It was a thing of beauty, the way her body could move like that, like it wasn't killin', just dancing....yet there they was dropped dead on the ground. He wondered where she'd learned it. And wondered why the hell she had not killed the ones attacking her before...but then he knew why, only she had been in danger then, and she had believed the Blue Hands could not be killed.

He stared at her, knew he was really seeing her for the first time, then shook it off.

"River..." his voice felt like sandpaper scrapping out of his throat, "...you ok? Cuz I think we best be movin' on before I collapse here."

River glanced at him silently, then bent to retrieve one of the guards sonic rifles. "Here" she said, handing it to him then helping him peel himself off the wall. He felt a little better then, more stable having a gun in his hands....less useless if they ran into more trouble. Though he was starting to suspect River was more capable of takin' care of him then the other way around, still, it felt good knowin’ next time he might be of some use to her.

She moved him along more quickly now...briefly he thought maybe they should hide the bodies, but he knew there was no time for that, their best chance now was getting to a ship as quick as possible. Even then it was a slim chance they'd be able to get away clear. He hoped she had some plan for ditching pursuit if she did get them off this rock.

********************************************

River chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip, going over in her head what she knew of the layout of this place, it was nearly identical to the one on Osiris, and what types of aircraft were likely to be found, dredging up all the half formed plans for escaping she'd had before, modifying them with all she had learned since from watching Mal and the others. She knew they were planning their own little rescue, that it would have come too late for Jayne if they had succeeded at all....knew if she could just get her and Jayne within range of Serenity that everything would work out somehow, it always did when they were all together...still wasn't quite sure how to get them there though. Too many variables yet. Didn't know if there would be any space worthy craft in the dock, if they'd be able to get to them if there were, if others would be able to get craft in the air and pursue them if they did.

It was all starting to make her head hurt.

But she had to get Jayne out, had to get him safe again, had to have a chance to find out if that desperate embrace had really been for her or just any living, breathing, familiar body not trying to torture him. But she didn't have time to think on that now, had to get Jayne out.

Then she felt it, the black, emptiness behind them....the other Blue Hand was coming, he knew they were trying to escape. He was going to kill them.

********************************************

Jayne felt River tense up next to him...all the warmth draining out of her. But she did not freeze, not this time, this time she kept moving....pushing him on ahead of her.

He saw the docking bay before River did...no surprise since he pretty much blocked the view of anyone behind him. Saw the guards go rigid with shock, then reach for their weapons....saw the first one knocked back into the door before he realized he'd fired his own stolen one first. She wasn't Vera, but she just might be enough to get them past these soft, gou tsoa de excuses for security. Then he felt the blast from the second guards weapon lift him off his feet and he was starin' up at the ceiling as every muscle and bone in his body screamed in agony. He caught a glimpse of Rivers face as she moved past him to deal with the guards, knew if it wasn't so gorram serious right now she'd be laughing at him layin' there.

He rolled over and started getting up, bracing himself against the pain...but glad that some strength seemed to be returning and his head seemed to be clearing up a bit. He wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline, having a weapon in his hands again or not wanting to let River have all the fun blasting them out of this ruttin' place, but he was almost starting to feel like Jayne again.

Then he saw the shoes...the deep, dark black shoes...he looked up, saw the pants....then the hands....blue gloves...just one pair...holding a thin metal thing....then two blue ends popped out the sides of it...

********************************************

River saw him pull out the HoB Rod, this was the Blue Hands weapon of choice, she had never had one used on her before but at the Academy they all had seen them used on those that did not obey the rules, that tried to run too many times, the ones Blue Sun decided they couldn't control. It jolted her out of the stupor she'd been in since it had come into view. She knew she had to get that thing off and get it off now before Jayne's insides turned to mush.

She rushed back up the corridor, hoping to knock it away, crush it before it destroyed Jayne...she did manage to surprise Blue Hand enough that he dropped it, but she could still feel it humming and Jayne screaming in her head, or was that her?

********************************************

Jayne looked down at the bloody body of the other Blue Hand, he'd almost decapitated this one as well, only he hadn't used a knife this time.

River was laying on the ground...on top of that blue thing, whatever it was....and sirens were going off all over the place now.

Roughly, Jayne pulled River up...he could see blood starting to pool in her eyes. Like tears.

Angrily he crushes that vile thing under his heal, heard a satisfying crunch and the humming stopped.

Whatever that thing had been he could tell it had caused River some hurt, felt like his ears were about to start bleeding too. Fine pair the two of them made now, he wondered absently which of them was going to drop dead first.

"River, which gorram ship'll get us off this ruttin' planet?"

He watched with relief as River started moving towards the one farthest away and he took off after her. Figures...all he wants to do is collapse and she's heading for the furthest place to collapse in. But at least she is heading, that's somethin'. He could hear the reinforcements rushing down the corridors heading their way.

"Time to get home, bao bai"

********************************************

River ran for the ship at the back of the docks, she could hear Jayne right behind her...muttering something about it being the farthest place to collapse into under his breath and something about "bao bai" and gettin' home...poor Jayne, he'd been through hell the last few days. She knew they had both sustained some damage from the HoB Rod, hoped it was only minor. It felt like it had only just started when Jayne had gotten it off, it had seemed to take longer then it needed to kill them. They should both be dead, puddles of blood on the floor.

She knew Simon was going to have a heck of a time fixing them when they got back on Serenity....she wouldn't let her self think on them not making it. If they could just get on that ship, get it going, get it out of atmo and into the asteroid belt she knew was just beyond this planet....she had a plan for after that....she just needed to get them there in one piece first.

She nearly crashed into the ship, she was running so fast...Jayne almost did too....good thing she had gotten the code to open the door keyed in before he went careening past her into the common area. She followed him in, punching in the code to close and lock the door as soon as her hand could reach the buttons, then she slid into the pilots chair and started up the engines. Jayne loomed over her as her fingers danced over the control panel of the small ship....then she grabbed the steering wheel and lifted off, hovering for a second as Jayne slid into the seat behind her...."Buckle up Jayne...."

"Uh....River" he said "you do know the doors ain't open, don't 'cha?"

"Yes...." with that River blasted the doors open....this was the reason she had gone for this ship....only one with weapons on it that was small enough to maneuver the way she needed it too later. The small vessel rocked back from the explosion, but River kicked the engines into high gear shooting them out of through the blasted door and incinerating the guards that had survived the first explosion in the process. Now she knew there would be no pursuit from that area....just hoped they got enough of a head start before reinforcements could come from outside the building they had just left. This was not a long range vessel, really nothing more then a souped up shuttle....but she didn't need it to be, it just needed enough range and power to get them out of atmo, which it should be able to do easily...if they didn't get shot down first.

They were lucky actually...most buildings did not have attached and enclosed docking bays, mostly for the reasons that River had just exploited in getting them out, it was too dangerous having space worthy vessels in confined places. Most places she'd have not been able to cut off their first and most dangerous source of pursuit so easily. But Blue Sun liked having more...privacy...at that location, and never thought anyone would be fool enough to try what she and Jayne had just done.

********************************************

Jayne found himself fascinated by River's slim fingers working the controls of the ship, he'd never really paid much mind to how graceful she was before. He heard the proximity alert go off as they neared leaving atmo, but his mind was elsewhere...almost dreaming-like.

He remembered the first time he'd seen her, comin' out of that box, all slim and pale....and naked. His body's reaction on seein' her that first time, before it was clear she was crazy an' all. And so young...plus he'd always thought him an' Kaylee'd end up together somewhere along the road. Had seemed to make sense, Zoë and Wash, Mal and Inara....him and Kaylee...had a certain balance to it even though he thought on her more as a lil' sis than anything. Then that prissy Doc had come aboard and Kaylee'd gone all sweet on him and Jayne had known he was trouble. That Kaylee'd get hurt...not in the way she had mind you, gettin' shot had not been the danger Jayne had foreseen. Jayne just didn't think the Doc would ever take the stick out his ass long enough to see Kaylee for the sweet, kind, loving person she was. But Jayne had been wrong and he'd come to terms with that long since, not that he'd ever let Simon know it. 'Sides, it was kinda funny watching someone even dumber around women then he was.

And now here Jayne was, sittin' there thinkin' on the Doc's sis...remembering images of laughter and hoops and sittin' at the table and spinning around in the cargo bay and sunlit fields full of cows and clear blue skies and stars all around...and always it was like he was looking out through her eyes. Seeing her memories...most of them he knew was just that, they matched up with memories of his own. Strange having the two sides of those images in his head like that. And then there were the ones that weren't memories, couldn't be because he was there and had no matching image from his side. Floating down to Mal standing on Serenity's hull and other sittin' at the table times and fields he'd never seen before and looking up at his own laughing face as he handed her a package wrapped very badly in pretty paper....but other then him not rememberin' them they felt the same as the memories.

Then there was that one time, that one image....it had started like the others, from her, in her mind...her fingers spread out, winding into his chest hair, looking down into his eyes, her feeling him inside her....it had been an odd sensation...feeling that...but then it had shifted...feeling himself inside her, looking up at her, seeing his hands tangling into her hair, pulling her face down to his....it disturbed him how real it had felt. Disturbed him how when that rib broke breaking the spell it had been the loss of that image that made him cry out and not the pain being inflicted from outside.

Jayne felt the little ship rock dangerously, looked around and realized they had just missed gettin' hit and were entering an asteroid belt...what the hell was River thinkin' taking them in there for!!

********************************************

River wove the shuttle easily among the asteroids...she was glad Jayne had come out of his little reverie, it had been starting to distract her and she needed to be able to think....had to move precisely in here...though his panic on realizing where they were wasn't much of an improvement. She almost wished he'd pass out totally...but she needed him more or less awake, there was no way she'd be able to get him suited up if he was unconscious. Speaking of which it was about time to do that....

"Jayne, get a suit on....and bring one up for me too." she tossed over her shoulder.

"wha?"

"Suit....spacesuit, thing that keeps you from dying when outside of a spacecraft."

She could feel his confusion....and his thought that she really was a crazy ass loon...but she could hear him getting suited up anyway.

He brought her up a suit too...helped her get into it while she was flying...it was really kinda sweet how his face scrunched up like that while he was guiding her hands and feet where they needed to be so she could more or less keep her eye on where they were going and one hand on the wheel. How his fingers had curled gently around her ankle like he was afraid it'd snap in two if he wasn't careful.

She'd managed to regain a bit of the lead she had lost when the higher-powered ships had given chase, they had to be even more careful moving around in here. Should be enough for what she had planned. As soon as Jayne had her in the suit she sent him an image of what she wanted to do, His face drained of color, but his eyes met hers steady enough.

He leaned forward and gave her a quick, hard kiss on the lips....then lifted her helmet on and snapped it into place before she could react. He had that annoying little smirk on his face as she glared at him through the helmet. It was not the first kiss she had wanted to get from him and he damn well knew it. She had wanted that first kiss to be more...she also knew it might be the only kiss she ever got.

She watched him get his own helmet in place, then signaled him to move to the door while she programmed into the ship where she wanted it to go. Soon as that was done she moved next to Jayne, made sure both of them had a hold of something that was bolted down and popped the latch open.

Now that there was no air in the shuttle she pulled herself out the hatch and waited for Jayne to do the same....once they were both out she grabbed hold of him, looked up at the closest asteroid and gave a tiny push....just enough to send them floating into it. It was big enough to shield them from sight of the bigger ships sensors...so long as they had been blocked from view when they went out of the ship....which she knew they had been. She stopped her and Jayne's movement by the simple expedient of hitting the asteroid, then grabbing hold of it's rough surface....not easy to do with the thick gloves of the suit on...so far...so good. She turned her head slightly and watched the brief flash of flames when the shuttle hit an asteroid, just as she had planned.

Now, with a bit more luck they will assume her and Jayne had still been on the shuttle when it hit. No reason for them not to, unless someone on that ship was like her....that was the one thing that worried her now. She knew she had not been at the Academy alone, that there had been other programs, that there could be some that Blue Sun were using already.

********************************************

He watched her face...she was watching the other ship leave. He could not believe she had pulled this off...only thing left now was waitin' for Serenity to come pick them up...up...how the ruttin' hell did she expect Serenity to know to come get 'em!?!?!

She turned her face to look at him with those big doe eyes of hers.....man could drown in those eyes....and smiled all serene-like at him. He remembered how she'd let him know what she was doin' and realized he really ought to not doubt that she could get Serenity here to pick them up now that they was dead and all.

He went still as the thought sunk in...the Alliance had every reason to believe River Tam had died in that shuttle, she'd not only managed to get them out today, but got them off her trail...if not forever...then for a good long spell.

He saw the pleased look in her eyes as he started to get the full impact of what she'd done...she looked a mite worried too. Part that scared him was he knew what was worryin' at her. She was scared that he'd find her even more creepifying now he'd seen what she could do. Now that he knew for sure she could read his mind, show him her own too...that she could kill a man quicker then he could...that the way she could pilot a ship even put Wash to shame. She was afraid he'd not be able to accept her as she was now that he'd seen it.

She knew how hard it had been for him to adjust to her and Simon bein' part of the crew, to start thinkin' on them as family...hell, been hard for him to accept any on Serenity as family, but the Tam's had been the hardest...partially because of the danger they put everyone else in just by bein' there, conflicted with the protective streak he'd been developing towards the others. Partially because that price on their heads spoke so clear to the merc code he'd lived by so long before finding a home on Serenity, look out for number one and always get the cash. Partially because he'd never been too comfortable around things he didn't understand...and he very much had not understood River.  
Still didn't get parts of her...probably never would. But that was ok, that was part of why River needed him. She needed all of them on Serenity....but she needed him because he felt things the most solid-like, the least like she did....when she touched his mind it give everything that she was feeling shape. He knew that was a simple way of understanding things between them, he also knew that didn't matter....he got what he needed to know out of it and that was what mattered.

He bent his head down slowly so his helmet was touching hers, let his forehead rest on the cool glass separating them and closed his eyes....hoping what River could feel inside him was enough to set her mind at rest, because he honestly had no words to tell her it was going to work out fine. He wanted to touch her, to let her know that way that he wasn't going to be fightin' this, that she wasn't scarin' him no more, that he knew she was a part of him...he could almost feel it when River's smooth forehead pressed against his through the glass.

********************************************

It felt like they had been drifting there forever, clinging to that rock spinning slowly through space, fading in and out as their wounds drained them both of strength.

Serenity had had to wait till the ban on taking off had been lifted....then waited a bit longer to make sure no one was near enough to wonder why they were creeping into an asteroid belt that most avoided and had recently been used by two fugitives trying to make their escape. River opened her eyes and studied Jayne's face, still pressed against their helmets.

She knew Wash was a bit discomforted about getting the coordinates in his head like that, and Mal from getting her plea for them to come get her and Jayne...the others still confused and quietly resentful on why they had left Melilot without even attempting their plans for rescue, especially Simon....the Captain never was one to let on what was up when he wasn't yet sure how it would work out. It was a tribute to his strength as Captain that the others had gone along with him even feeling as they did.

She had considered touching all their minds to let them know things was ok, but she was so tired....and this was the Captains call. She even understood why he did it...what if they did all know where they was heading but they didn't make it to her and Jayne in time...best the others not know how close they had been if all that was there were two corpses.

She saw the Captain open the hatch as Wash gingerly maneuvered Serenity as close as he could, she wondered how the Captain had gotten the others out of the way while he came out to check they were really here. She'd been concentrating on making sure she was still breathing as the air was getting thin, glad that Jayne knew to conserve his own air as long as possible and had stayed as silent as she had....Simon would have been to panicked.

That was the other reason Jayne had become her rock, he understood what it sometimes took to survive and did it without fuss. Even when it wasn't pretty. She had thought that was the one he'd have figured out first. It amazed her that he had figured out how he gave her form, even in the most basic way he had. But to her it was just as important that he was her protector, her warrior.

She realized he was watching her, waiting for her to finish her rescue of him, trusting her.

"Boa bai, we're home,” she whispered and gently pushed her and Jayne off the rock and towards Serenity...remembering that other time she had drifted like this...

And the Captain, always there to catch his crew and bring them back to Serenity.

********************************************

Epilogue

Jayne walked onto the bridge...it was dark, nighttime as Serenity figured things. It had been a bit over a week since him and River had gotten back on board. The first couple days spent sleeping and healing, then slowly gettin' back into the old routine.

They had yet to spend any time alone together, but they were rarely far apart...always sittin' next to each other at the table, or on the couch by the infirmary. Simon had been givin' him warning looks each time he'd gotten to close to River for his taste, which had been most of the time. Jayne didn't care. He liked bein' close to River, needed to know she was near.

There had been no word on the cortex of River's death; he knew that shouldn't have surprised him. They were not likely to want to draw attention to the fact that they had had River and she'd died getting away. They had no real proof that Blue Sun believed she was dead, but they'd had plenty of time to comb that asteroid belt lookin' for her if they hadn't. Plenty of time to catch up with Serenity after she picked them up. So they had to assume that Blue Sun, at least, was no longer actively looking for them. A smaller victory then he'd hoped for, but it was a start.

He looked down at River layin' there on the deck in front of Wash's controls, looking up at the stars. Her hair spread out around her head like a halo. Slowly he sat down beside her, his ribs still paining him some. Jayne wondered how she could lay there like that, the grate was digging into his ass already and she'd been there a while. She sat up and gracefully moved so her back was to him, then she snuggled back into him, close to his chest, resting her head back against his shoulder. She felt so fragile as he wrapped his arms around her gently.

His mind drifted back over the past two years, that first one had been real rocky. Then they had all come to a kinda truce, slowly deepening into a trust. Mal had gott'n real bad when Inara left, but had seemed to regain a lot of his faith when she came back. He even let Book say grace out loud now. Wash and Zoë had a kid on the way, that was gonna change things. Simon had loosened up a lot and that made Kaylee happy, heck, he might even be able to keep her happy.

And then there was him and River...she made him feel soft-like and complete...and he'd done more thinkin' the past week then he had the rest of his life put together. Kinda made his head hurt sometimes.


End file.
